Migration and homelessness
The Mayor’s Life Off the Streets programme
The Mayor’s Life Off the Streets programme provides a range of services and initiatives to help people sleeping rough come off the streets and rebuild their lives, including people who are not from the UK.
In addition, there are also specific services and initiatives to support non-UK national rough sleepers to find a sustainable route off the streets, including the Migration Accommodation Pathway Support service, Sub-regional Immigration Advice Service, Roma Rough Sleeping Team and the Homeless Migrants Advisory Panel.
Homeless Migrants Advisory Panel (HMAP)
The Homeless Migrants Advisory Panel (HMAP) is an expert group to advise the work of the Life Off The Streets Taskforce, the London Strategic Migration Partnership (LSMP) and the GLA’s internal teams on issues related to street homelessness among non-UK nationals in London.
See the terms of reference for more information about HMAP.
Migrant Accommodation Pathways Support service
The Migrant Accommodation Pathway Support service (MAPS) supports non-UK nationals rough sleeping or at immediate risk of it across London. MAPS works to identify and clarify clients' entitlements, accommodation options, and work with other professionals to help them out of homelessness.
To find out more, visit the MAPS website.
Sub-regional Immigration Advice Services (SIAS)
The Sub-regional Immigration Advice Services (SIAS) provide immigration advice for people sleeping rough, and those at risk of rough sleeping, who need specialist support to clarify and/ or regularise their immigration status. A link worker service works with each sub-region to maximise the effectiveness of the support provided by the referring agencies and the advice services and improve joint working. Emergency accommodation is also provided for those who are most vulnerable.
Training programme on supporting migrant rough sleepers
The training programme upskills the homelessness and migrant sectors to better support non-UK national rough sleepers. The programme seeks to increase understanding on the needs and rights of this group, the tools, opportunities and barriers in the system to support them and improve the level of collaboration between the migrant and homelessness sectors. The project includes online training and workshops, second tier advice and facilitating a community of learners.
For more information about the training programme, visit the Homeless Link website.
Roma Rough Sleeping Team
The Roma Rough Sleeping Team is a specialist service to support Roma rough sleepers in London and the organisations working with them. The service supports Roma rough sleepers to understand and access their entitlements and include specialist immigration and employment support.
Through this specialist service, support is available for local authorities and service providers to better meet the specific needs of Roma clients and adopt relevant best practice to meet these needs, including in relation to delivering offers of support and accommodation options.
The specialist service aims to improve engagement and trust between Roma rough sleepers and mainstream service providers, and support Roma rough sleepers to liaise with services to ensure equal access and work towards ultimately securing a sustainable route off the street.
For more information, visit the Roma Rough Sleeping Team website.
Substance misuse toolkit for migrants experiencing homelessness
The GLA in partnership with Homeless Link have produced a toolkit clarifying the entitlement of migrants to substance misuse treatment. For those caught in the immigration system, access to health care can be a challenging issue. The rules around access are complex and this is especially the case when it comes to accessing substance misuse treatment.
The toolkit is a resource for frontline staff and managers who work with migrants experiencing homelessness. It will help them to understand migrants' entitlements to drug and alcohol services and provide guidance. This will help staff take decisions around accessing services and support, making best use of available resources and improving outcomes for their service users.
To find out more, visit the Homeless Link website.
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